Jonas Valanciunas provides glimmer of hope for Raptors

By STEVE SIMMONS, QMI Agency

Lithuania's Jonas Valanciunas dunks against Nigeria during their men's Group A match at the during the London 2012 Olympic Games, July 31, 2012. (SERGIO PEREZ/Reuters)

LONDON - Jose Calderon was standing in the corner of the basketball venue, behind a typical Olympic barrier, catching a glimpse of the future of the team he may not be with much longer.

“What do you think?” Calderon was asked.

“He’s good,” he said with a smile, pointing at the big man. “I like him. He’s very good.”

At that moment, Jonas Valanciunas, the big man almost no one has seen, all arms and legs and a bundle of surprising big-man energy, had swatted away a Nigerian shot, the second block in the same sequence that brought the pro-Lithuanian crowd to its flag-waving feet and a look of approval to Calderon’s face.

“That’s what he does,” said Linas Kleiza, his Lithuania and Toronto teammate. “I think he’s going to be a big difference maker. It’s just going to take some time. He needs time.”

At first glance of the 7-foot Valanciunas on a basketball court you see an athlete who isn’t as skinny as advertised. He’s not exactly built like LeBron James, either, but he’s not skinny the way Chris Bosh was in his first few years either. He seems, in some ways, to be the anti-Andrea Bargnani. He wants to play defence. He wants to be physical. He wants to get involved and rebound.

“My main weapon, I can run,” Valanciunas said post-game in a rare one-on-one interview in the mixed zone at the basketball venue. “I cannot say I’m really athletic. That’s not what you’ll see from me. But I can run, I can jump some, and that’s why I can play with these (NBA) guys. I’m not a player who just stands still. I don’t really like posting, I don’t like set offence. I like the pick and rolls. I like to play aggressive defence and rebound and I love [you could see this against the Nigerian team on American-based Nigerians] to block shots.”

Valunciunas has presence, on the court, off the court, different from so many of the 20-year-olds who have found their way to Toronto in the past to play for the Raptors. The big centre makes eye contact, speaks English comfortably, shakes hands as though he cares about the person he’s talking to, wants to make an impression. That much is clear: He doesn’t want to just fit in.

On the court, he doesn’t look like a kid who happens to be the starting centre on the Lithuanian team. Off the court, in the Athletes Village, he admits he’s had to compose himself just a little. There is still some child wonder in him. He sees someone famous — especially someone NBA famous — and he wants to play against them and get their autograph, all at the same time.

The other day, he met with Calderon in the Village, just to talk about Toronto and what lays ahead.

He said with his eyes wide. “It was a good talk. He is nice guy,” said Valanciunas. But then he gets this sly smile on his face when he talks about seeing — and playing against — Team USA, many of the players being those he grew up worshipping.

“We play them,” he said. “I look forward to that. That is an important game for me, and important game for us.”

That is the separation you have to make here at the Olympic Games. The NBA is a league of stars: The Olympics is all about team. “The team result is more important than my result,” said Valanciunas. “I want to win. I always want to win. The winning team is the best team.”

It’s the part Valanciunas will have to get used to in Toronto. Not winning. He was with the winning team at the equivalent of the world juniors for basketball in 2011, on the winning team at the Under-18 European championships, on the winning team for the Under-16s. He just happened to be the MVP in all three of those tournaments.

“I don’t measure my game by statistics,” said Valanciunas. “I measure it by wins.”

“Look at what he does now,” said Kleiza, the Raptor who plays a scoring and leadership role for Lithuania here. “Think of the future. The future is very bright for him. He’s going to be a very good player.”

It just won’t be immediate. The old adage is that big men take longer to develop and that will be true with Valanciunas, but he will bring to Toronto and the Raptors something that’s been missing for some time: An edge. A defence-first presence. An unbridled enthusiasm. How often do you see an NBA centre being first player up the court? For Lithuania, often Valanciunas was first up the court Tuesday.

He wants to continue that when he gets to the NBA in the fall. But he won’t allow himself to think that far ahead now.

“I’m focused on the Olympic Games,” said the first-time Olympian. “When it’s going to be finished, then I’ll be concentrated on Toronto Raptors.”

A Raptors team he hopes Calderon will be a part of. But Calderon, through his agent, has reportedly asked to be traded, after the Raptors signing of point guard Kyle Lowry. And in a text message response Tuesday, general manager Bryan Colangelo said nothing was new on the Calderon situation.

To date, Calderon himself has made no public statement on the matter. Why? “Because there is nothing to say,” he said. “This is the Olympics for now. I’m concentrating on the Olympics. There’s nothing else to say. Sorry.”